Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s19.204

v1.c3.s19.204

Dhūma-ketu, ‘smoke-bannered,’ is an epithet of Mṛtyu, ‘death,’ in the Atharvaveda.¹ Zimmer² thinks that a comet is meant, but Whitney³ considers this extremely improbable. Lanman⁴ plausibly suggests that the smoke of the funeral pile is referred to.